This blog provides delicious,traditional, vegetarian, South Indian Recipes from my mother Chitra Amma's kitchen. There are few 'world recipes' as well!
Thanks to Shravan, Pranav, Akash, Tara, Guggs, Shankari, Adu, Dhrithi, and Appa Ramachandran for the photos!

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Friday, June 30, 2017

Once upon a time Adai with vella sakkarai (brown sugar) used to be one of my favourite after-school 'tiffins'. Traditionally Adais are prepared using various combinations of one or more lentils with rice, broken wheat or millets. Plain lentil Adais without cereals are also delicious. Split Moong Adai is one such variation. Rich in protein and fiber content it can be considered as one of the ideal breakfast dishes.

INGREDIENTS

Split green gram - 1 glass

Green chilly - 1

Fresh ginger (Peeled) - 1'' piece

Asafoetida - 1 pinch

Salt - 3/4 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Chopped coriander leaves - lots

Finely chopped onion - 1 cup

Sesame oil for roasting

METHOD

1. Wash and soak split green gram for one hour.

2. Drain and grind the soaked split green gram coarsely along with the green husk, salt, green chilly, asafoetida and ginger, without adding too much water.

3. Keep the batter thick and coarse and mix in the cumin seeds, minced onion and chopped coriander.

4. Heat a greased tava, place a ball of Adai batter in the center and pat it into a 1/4 inch thick Adai using your wet fingers.

5. Make a hole in the middle and dribble oil into it and all around the Adai and cover with a lid.

6. Cook on medium flame for two or three minutes and check if the batter is cooked on top.

7. Check the bottom of the Adai to see if it has turned golden brown in colour.

8. Flip the Adai, dribble few more drops of oil around it and cook for one more minute.

Remove onto a plate and enjoy the Split Moong Adai while it is hot and crisp.

Thursday, June 22, 2017

A menu for a festive occasion at home was planned taking our Chef Bhattru's suggestions into consideration. Bhattru's idea of serving Mavina Hannina Rasayana as a dip for the gorgeous Obbattus was a great hit among the invitees. An additional serving of the ambrosial Rasayana was also served for dessert on demand! Bhattru gave me the know how of the recipe and added that the delicious Mavina Hannina Rasayana could be served with Dosas and Shyavige too. Here is Bhattru's recipe for the mouth watering Mavina Hannina Rasayana.

INGREDIENTS

Ripe and sweet mangoes - 3

Coconut - 1

Cardamom powder - 1 pinch

Sugar/ Powdered jaggery - to taste

Saffron strands - a few

METHOD

1. Wash, cut and scoop out the mango pulp into a bowl.

2. Squeeze out the juice from the seeds and save it along with the pulp.

3. Break and grate the fresh coconut and allow it to soak in a sprinkle of warm water for ten minutes.

Saturday, June 17, 2017

TERRIFIC TRIO POTATO SAAGU
Terrific Trio! Yes! That is what the colourful little potatoes are known as! A pack of tender and soft, tricoloured potatoes not only added colour to the normal Potato Saagu but also imparted a unique flavour to the dish.

Here is how I prepared the picturesque Terrific Trio Potato Saagu for my son's family at Portland.

INGREDIENTS

Terrific Trio Potatoes - 1 pack

Onion - 1 big

Cashew nuts - a few

Fresh ginger and green chillies (Chopped) - 1 tbsp

Asafoetida - 1 pinch

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Gram flour/Besan - 1 tbsp

Sesame oil - 2 tbsps

Salt - 11/2 tsps

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

Bengal gram dal - 1 tsp

Juice of one big lime

Coriander leaves for garnishing

METHOD

1. Wash the potatoes thoroughly and cook them till they are just done with the peels intact.

2. Cool the potatoes and cut them into half.

3. Peel and chop onion into thin slices.

4. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.

5. When the mustard splutters add the Bengal gram dal and roast till it turns golden in colour.

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Mango season always brings in festivity and cheer along with it. Chefs come up with new lip smacking mango recipes while there are umpteen mango oriented snacks dished out by proficient bakers. How can one resist the magnificent mouth watering mango dessert spreads at restaurants? On the home front it is chutney and pickles galore where mothers and grand mothers are busy preserving them to last till the next season. Just when I was yearning to post a mango recipe for this season, my sister mentioned about the Thai Mango Fried Rice which she happened to relish recently. I used mango sauce (my own concoction) for my experiment, and my Mango Fried Rice turned out delicious!

INGREDIENTS FOR MANGO SAUCE

Peeled and cubed half ripe mango - 1 cup

Green chilly - 1

Fresh ginger (peeled) - a fat 1'' piece

Garlic - 6 cloves

Powdered jaggery - 1tsp

Salt - 1tsp

Blend all the above ingredients together into a smooth sauce without adding water.

INGREDIENTS FOR FRIED MANGO RICE

Rice - 1 cup

Peeled and cubed half ripe mango - 1 cup

Finely minced beans and carrot - 1 cup

Onion ( slivered ) - 1/2 cup

Sesame oil - 4 tbsps

Red chillies - 4

Coriander seeds - 1 tbp

Mango sauce - 1 cup

METHOD

1. Wash and pressure cook rice with two cups of water and allow to cool.

2. Dry roast red chillies and coriander seeds and grind them into a coarse powder.

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Hello

Welcome to Chitra Amma's Kitchen.

I am Dibs. I am a born Foodie. I love to cook; love to eat; love to feed folks who appreciate good food. Blogging provides me a great way of documenting my mother, Chitra’s recipes, as a ready reference irrespective which time zone I live in. Amma honestly makes the best food I've ever had, and somehow, the anecdotes she tells us, make the dishes taste all the better.Most posts here are written by my mother Chitra. It’s her recipes, along with related reminiscences of people, places and anecdotes. She writes, I post!What started for a lark, has now become a serious hobby, drawing in participation from the whole family. My father, S.R. Ramachandran has started clicking away every dish made at home! Aunts, cousins, siblings, contribute to photos, and ask for recipes.We try to illustrate implements such as utensils, grinding stones and so on from the ‘pre-electric-mixer’ days wherever possible. We hope this will make an interesting read for future generations, on how food was cooked in earlier times!The site is still in its infancy, and slowly evolving, as our skills improve! We invite your comments, ideas, and questions, and will attempt answering them.

Thank you for your visit, and we hope you enjoy your stay at Chitra Amma’s Kitchen.